#I think the trials in DR2 are the weakest of the series imo...but still good | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

surprisebitch · 7 years

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THOUGHTS ON DANGANRONPA V3 (NOT SPOILER-FREE)

This is not a spoiler-free review so only click Read More or read IF YOU HAVE FINISHED THE GAME.

If not, don’t read this at all and if you’re on mobile, scroll down super quickly and I tagged this as ndrv3, drv3 so don’t complain or say I didn’t warn you.

Anyway, so my thoughts!!!

GAMEPLAY

DRV3 has the superior gameplay objectively out of all the franchise. It feels more polished, refined, and it looks like they really took criticisms from the previous games and improved the gameplay for this.

From the first shooting movement, it’s definitely more suited than the Danganronpa movement style when moving across the academy or map. And how easier it is to get Monocoins now just by shooting all the stuff in every room… It is definitely more reasonable than having to examine everything (EVEN MONITORS) from the previous games which was tedious and a hard way to earn coins just to earn precious gifts. Like now, it is actually possible to give THE BEST PRESENTS for every freetime even from the beginning of the game! I gave EVERYONE THE BEST PRESENT from the beginning. The Hidden Monokuma this time also are nice cause you see them in 3D and around the campus! So yeah, these were nice improvements when it comes to moving.

Now onto the class trials!

Let’s start with the minigames. Hangman’s Gambit is the best here and it’s still challenging. Psyche Taxi was pretty good even though Mind Surfing from DR2 was more challenging and can be frustrating. The classic Rebuttal Showdown was great. Argument Armament had a nice rhythm game mechanics and challenges. I especially love the unique sprite of the character involved in the middle and the transitions to the end.. really builds up nicely and when all their clothes get torn in the end, how dramatic.

But the crown definitely goes to SCRUM DEBATE. Now that was really lit. It was intense and really encapsulated the atmosphere of the debate grounds. It would have been really great if this was a minigame for the previous games but I guess it’s never too late!

Now another aspect of the trial, nonstop debate! I really loved Mass Panic Debate, it added more challenge and the Loud Voices too. I think objectively DRV3 has the most challenging Trials that I hit the Retry screen a number of times haha but I thankfully still got an A grade in all trials (playing in Mean Logic too so).

The LIE BULLET deserves to be singled out though. How lying becomes a necessary thing to do and gets you closer to the truth since every trial is designed where you have to lie once. If you lie more than once, you unlocked the backroute. (I apparently did that for one of the cases though since I found the most logical argument was to lie.) But yeah, it also gives the main story a replay value somehow cause you get to see alternate events unfold if you lie instead of tell the truth or vice versa. And yup, this game DOES involve the theme of lying so I think it was cleverly executed.

Tl;dr:

Gameplay-wise, DRV3 is objectively superiour and the best of the franchise.

CHARACTERS AND OTHER POSITIVE POINTS

Let’s start with the amazing Kaede. God, she would have really been the strongest protagonist and I was soo looking forward to play as her then felt betrayed after chapter 1. BTW, the strongest chapter 1 of the series.. really started this game off with a BANG and lots of tears. It was suspicious though how she already started strong when Makoto and Hajime weren’t as strong as Kaede so RED FLAGS there. But I didn’t like chapter 1 and I will get more into that later.

Shuichi had amazing development though and watching him evolve redeemed chapter 1 so it was justified. EVEN THOUGH we find out later Kaede was wrongfully executed ugh.

All the executions in V3 are absolutely brutal. I think V3 has the worst executions in the franchise. All of them were torturous while other games had fast death executions. V3 didn’t spare you from seeing the characters suffer an agonizing death so yeah it did have a lot of impact especially since many of the characters except Kiyo died unfairly and brutally. The Kaito plot twist was amazing though and I’m glad we got to see a character not suffer.

I think it really conveyed how twisted watching such a game can be. But then again, it would have been better if they didn’t remind us it was fiction even though we know it is.

Personally, I think V3 has the strongest cast because everybody had strong character development including the survivors.

Before everyone was sent off, we all got to see their talents and how their characters evolve. Also how unlikely the survivors are here.. I totally didn’t expect Himiko and Kibo to survive. I did get Maki and Shuichi though since Maki was like a deadly Kirigiri.

I ended up loving so many students. Kirumi is best girl though. Of course, there’s Miu too and Maki. AND GONTA AND KAITO ARE MY HUSBANDS. And you end up loving the rest in their own way.

tl;dr:

V3 definitely has the strongest cast but couldve gotten a strong protagonist and I can go on and on why but for the previous DR games, there were characters I didn’t like but for V3, I loved everybody even the twisted ones cause like they really were interesting fascinating characters haha

SOUNDTRACK

Amazing.. A+

Nothing else to be said. Phenomenal. So let’s go with the Ending

CHAPTER 1 AND ENDING AND STORY CRITIQUE

I honestly wish that they made Kaede stick around longer til chapter 5 at least then protag switch. Kaede had sooo much potential to be the most complex character. chapter 1 was messily executed imo (pun intended) and was just done for shock value on the get go imo. It would have been more impactful if we actually lost her towards the end of the game and been a different formula. In all DRs, the most advertised and significant character died on the 1st chapter and V3 isn’t an exception except for the fact it was a protagonist switch. I still think the switch could’ve been happened later.

I think the whole meta plot twist was brilliant. THAT BEING SAID, it could have been executed differently but still conveyed the intended message and the philosophy of Danganronpa.

So, in the end we find out that this Killing Game was orchestrated by the real world and Tsumugi is the mastermind of this game. Okay, so let’s talk about Tsumugi first. I honestly think that Tsumugi as a mastermind was clever.. who would have expected the Plain Jane of the class will be the mastermind; it is a totally danganronpa plot twist but at the same time the iconic Junko makes an appearance thanks to her ultimate talent as a cosplayer.

I liked Tsumugi as a mastermind but I didn’t like how it was executed (no pun intended). If she actually had development, she would’ve not ended up being one of the least fave characters in the polls. I liked her motive though and it was really sinister but she was such a background character. i wish we actually saw her play a significant role throughout the game. She has a really cute character design so in my opinion, she’s a strong mastermind. Junko was flashy and sexy and out of the class whereas Tsumugi was still sexy but presented herself as ordinary and is a “survivor” since her talent makes her extraordinary so YES I think Tsumugi as the mastermind is perfect but it would’ve been better to see her play an active role throughout the game.

It was also clever that DR would mislead us with Kokichi who I think is one of the best characters in the franchise alongside Komaeda. I was fooled into thinking he really was the mastermind with his lies! BUT THEN I REMEMBERED, this is Danganronpa and there will ALWAYS BE PLOT TWISTS, it’s not that easy and I was right but I didn’t know how to explain it. Actually, I thought it was Kaito who I love btw cause he was suspicious and it turned out that it was neither of them and they worked together in the end. Chapter 5 of SDR2 and V3 are definitely iconic chapters in the franchise. So back to Kokichi.. I think it was brilliant writing with no continuity errors that he ended up being the dark knight of this game or the unlikely good guy when he always presented himself as a villain. I must admit I hated Kokichi especially after Chapter 4 when he sacrificed Gonta but then Kokichi really had no choice, who else could’ve killed Miu (RIP btw, I also really loved Miu). And while I was angry that Kokichi said he was fake crying for Gonta.. after the ending and his dying words, I can see that he was just using his lies to mask his thoughts and he really hated this killing game. So yes, Kokichi was manipulative and deceitful but this game proved that such a character can end up being the “good guy” here since his ultimate goal was to lure the mastermind out through the killing game and even confuse the mastermind.

So I kinda got off a tangent I know so lets go BACK to the ending. I think the weakest point of the ending is the fiction aspect. I feel like that was totally unnecessary and the message of Danganronpa could have been portrayed if they just went meta, we were the audience, and said that the universe of V3 isn’t fiction. It would have been more effective cause we would have felt more sympathy for the characters playing this twisted game and they could still end the game by not voting at all and having the canon no hope or despair ending. We would have gotten the message and the philosophy while making the rest of the Danganronpa including V3 matter. Sure WE KNOW they are fiction but we didn’t have to be reminded especially for 3+ hours since the trial lasted 6-8 hours gosh.. It was really tedious and LOOONG.

Presenting Danganronpa as fiction makes everything seem meaningless and I feel that’s why the ending was very polarizing. I feel that if they left Fiction out and just went Meta that everyone in the Killing Game is us then that would have better conveyed the message without leaving a sour taste about the significance of the previous games cause many felt that everything was a lie and meaningless even when Team DR didn’t intend it since they wanted to critique violence in media and how twisted enjoying playing games such as DR. Personally, i am rooting for Hope everytime but i see now how hope and despair will not end the cycle of this killing game so i love how neither hope nor despair ended it.

So yes, I love that the contestants were fans and wanted to be part of the Killing Game. It was a smart plot twist and could be satirical since who knows if there are really players out there who’d have the mentality of the students. So yeah, the whole Killing Game being orchestrated by an audience would have been brilliant. I just hope that they blurred the idea it’s fictional and made Danganronpa seem real cause yes we know it’s fiction but we play this game for escapism and the thrill. We didn’t have to be reminded of it and we WOULD STILL GRASP the message.

After all is said, I really love the mastermind’s motive and plot twist of this game. It’s a satire to consumerism.. Supply and demand was such an important concept here. True, Tsumugi just saw life as a way to satisfy demand but i think it was so despairful cause WE ARE THE MASTERMINDS.. us playing Danganronpa, we play for the thrill even though our intentions are different.

Personally i played to see Hope triumph over Despair. and Tsumugi and the whole ending made us see that even rooting for hope wont end the killing game. And it was so twisted cause Tsumugi was a representation of the irony behind Danganronpa. It was awful true but at the end of the day, she represents team Danganronpa and we love that game so yeah it was so meta. Hard fact but Tsumugi’s motive was strong and makes you ponder. (but AGAIN, i wish she had a more explicit active role throughout the story)

Tl;dr:

So did I love it or hate it? I loved that it had a self-aware message but it could have been executed better (no pun intended. damn im sorry). It is a strong installment in the franchise but it is not without flaws. Protagonist switch would’ve been better in chapter 4 or 5. That being said, I loved most aspects of it but I dislike how they tried to layer so many things onto each other that it ended up being convoluted. I feel that if they just said that the V3 universe was real and left fiction out of the picture, we still would have grasped the message. They should have just left DR1 and DR2 as fictional in the V3 universe while the Killing Games in V3 are reality. And I feel with that clarified, the ending would have been less confusing.

Nevertheless, I love how the ending didnt follow Hope winning over Despair and was a completely different ending. And yes, Tsumugi as a mastermind was amazing.. totally despairful and has a strong message. But yet again, the story could have been reworked and delivered more strongly.

However, the entire ending could have been a lie right? I mean the game's theme is Lie vs. Truth so who knows what really was the truth or not? I guess we’ll find out if we get another Danganronpa game… because at the end of the day, Supply and Demand!

How about you? What are your thoughts? Reply to this post if you wanna share!

#drv3 #danganronpa #new danganronpa v3 #ndrv3 #v3 #spoiler #spoilers #long post

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